2023 CORONATION OF KING CHARLES III

How Being The Biographer Of An African Queen Inadvertently Led Me To Cover This Iconic Event

By Egor Kelly

THE CORONATION of King Charles III in London today, May 6, 2023, was celebrated with great pomp and ceremony.

Queen Camilla, who initially took on the title of Queen Consort, was also crowned Queen, alongside King Charles. This is a huge deal because unlike a queen regnant who possesses and exercises sovereign powers, a queen consort or queen regent, a title usually given to the spouse of a monarch, does not have any real authority; she only shares her spouse's and/or child's ranks or titles, but does not share in their sovereignty.

The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, flew into England from America, to attend his father, the King's coronation. He arrived at Westminster Abbey, just as his father, King Charles III, was officially crowned. It was the first time the 38-year-old sat in public with his family since he criticised his father, King Charles III, his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, his brother, Prince William (the Prince of Wales) and his brother's wife, the Princess of

Wales, in his memoir, Spare.

Prince Harry sat in the third row of today's ceremony and did not have any formal role at the event. He was seated alongside Princess Eugenie's husband, Jack Brooksbank, together with Eugenie, Beatrice and Mr Mapelli Mozzi.

Prince Harry's wife, American actress, Meghan Markle, stayed back at home in Montecito, California, with their two children, Archie and Lili.

The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture. The Royal Family is all about serious responsibilities like pomp and circumstance, figureheads for the land of hope and glory. It was a nostalgic moment for me, as I witnessed a great display of all these responsibilities today.

I was born in the UK and have witnessed the pageantry and tradition of the Royal Family from the wedding of Prince Charles (now King Charles) and the late Lady Diana Spencer (the beautiful Princess of Wales) in 1981, to the births of their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, respectively, to the Golden,

Diamond, Sapphire and Platinum Jubilees of Queen Elizabeth II (of blessed memory).

Having witnessed all of the above, I am no stranger to the Royal Family events, but I must confess that this particular coronation of King Charles III was my own personal pièce de résistance and my soppy self actually shed a tear when the crown was placed on his head (video on Hollywood Weekly TV). In typical British fashion, I shouted along with the crowd, "God save the King"! Oh, how I missed seeing our lovely Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. This was my first time not seeing them together at a royal event. Prince Philip had already passed on when Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee last year and it was a sad and solemn day not seeing him standing beside her, as usual. She passed on herself a few months after. May their gentle souls find rest.

Back to the tale of how I inadvertently got to cover this iconic event. I received a phone call from Queen Barbara James, a Nigerian (Efik) queen, at 6am this morning.

She informed me that she had just arrived in London to attend King Charles's coronation and she wanted me to meet her at her hotel, The Dorchester, in an hour. I am her biographer, so although this was an impromptu meeting, it wasn't unusual.

I arrived at her hotel in record time, only to be ushered into a waiting black cab. Queen Barbara joined me a few minutes later and informed me that I was accompanying her to Westminster Abbey for the coronation and she wanted me to take photos for her book. I was initially alarmed, as I was underdressed. I just had on jeans and trainers. However, like a true professional, I took it in my stride and rose to the occasion.

We arrived at a private wing of Westminster Abbey where Queen Barbara met with some other VIPs. I captured photos of her with Baroness Wilcox of Newport, Simon Davenport KC and Royal Perfumer, Anastasia Brozler. I also captured trails of the now viral Red Arrows display which trailed red, white and blue smoke, as they flew over Westminster Abbey.

Everyone gasped in awe. It was such a breathtaking sight to behold.

Looking very beautiful and regal in her yellow Oscar De La Renta dress, Queen Barbara James aptly represented Nigeria as she celebrated the coronation with friends. As someone who lived in London for 20 years, it is no wonder that Queen Barbara loves the tradition of the Royal Family. Despite being an Efik Queen, she will always be a Londoner, in the true sense of the word, itself.

I know how much Americans love reading about the British Royal Family, so I have gone all out to make Hollywood Weekly readers have a feel of the coronation from start to finish. Read excerpts below by Chris Clayton. The ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey, with the King becoming the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned there since 1066. Queen Camilla was crowned alongside him before a huge parade back to Buckingham Palace.

The formal celebrations started with a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey at 10:20 BST.

The procession moved along The Mall to Trafalgar Square, then down Whitehall and Parliament Street before turning into Parliament Square and Broad Sanctuary to reach the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey.

Outside the palace gates, there was a Guard of Honour, comprising about 160 members of the three armed services, with another 1,000 personnel lining the route.

Almost 4,000 invited guests, including armed forces veterans and NHS and social care staff, were in stands outside Buckingham Palace, with thousands more people in viewing areas along the route and official screening sites nearby.

More than 2,200 people from 203 countries were in Westminster Abbey, with processions there before the King arrived involving faith leaders and representatives from some Commonwealth countries.

The King arrived at the abbey wearing a red velvet robe of state. Underneath he was wearing trousers rather than the more traditional breeches and silk stockings worn by kings before him.

The ceremony began at 11:00 and was punctuated with music selected by the King, with 12 newly commissioned pieces, including one by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Greek Orthodox music in memory of the King's father, Prince Philip.

The King's grandson, Prince George, was among the pages, alongside Camilla's grandchildren, Lola, Eliza, Gus, Louis and Freddy.

There were several stages to the service, which lasted a little under two hours, with female clergy and religious leaders from other faiths playing an active part for the first time.

STAGE 1: THE RECOGNITION

King Charles was presented to "the people" - a tradition dating back to Anglo-Saxon times. Standing beside the 700-year-old Coronation Chair, the King turned to face the four sides of the abbey and be proclaimed the "undoubted King" before the congregation was asked to show their homage and service.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby made the first declaration and the congregation shouted "God Save the King!" and trumpets sounded after each recognition.

STAGE 2: THE OATH

The Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledged the multiple faiths observed in the UK by saying the Church of England would "seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths may live freely" and then administered the Coronation Oath - a legal requirement.

He asked King Charles to confirm that he would uphold the law and the Church of England during his reign, and the King placed his hand on the Holy Gospel and pledged to "perform and keep" those promises.

The King also took the Accession Declaration Oath stating that he was a "faithful Protestant".

STAGE 3: THE ANOINTING

The King's ceremonial robe was removed and he sat in the Coronation Chair to be anointed, emphasising the spiritual status of the sovereign who is also the head of the Church of England.

The archbishop poured special oil from the Ampulla - a gold flask - on to the Coronation Spoon before anointing the King in the form of a cross on his head, breast and hands.

The Ampulla was made for Charles II's coronation, but its shape harks back to an earlier version and a legend that the Virgin Mary appeared to St Thomas a Becket in the 12th Century and gave him a golden eagle from which future kings of England would be anointed.

The Coronation Spoon is much older, having survived Oliver Cromwell's destruction of the regalia after the English Civil War.

The oil itself was produced for the coronation using olives harvested from two groves from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and consecrated at a special ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the city.

A screen concealed the King from view while he was anointed, because this is considered to be the most sacred part of the service.

STAGE 4: THE INVESTITURE

Literally the crowning momentand the only time King Charles will wear St Edward's Crown in his life.

The crown is named after a much earlier version made for the AngloSaxon king and saint, Edward the

Confessor, and said to have been used at coronations after 1220 until Cromwell had it melted down.

It was made for King Charles II, who wanted a crown similar to the one worn by Edward but even grander.

King Charles III was only the seventh monarch to wear it after Charles II, James II, William III, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II - who last wore it at her own coronation in 1953.

First the King was given a shimmering golden coat to wear called the Supertunica, and presented with items including the Sovereign's Orb, the Coronation Ring, the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross and the Sovereign's Sceptre with Dove.

Then at 12:01 the archbishop placed St Edward's Crown on the King's head and the abbey bells rang for two minutes, trumpets sounded and gun salutes were fired across the UK.

A 62-round salute fired at the Tower of London, with a six-gun salvo at Horse Guards Parade. Twentyone rounds were fired at a further

11 locations around the UK, including Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, and on deployed Royal Navy ships.

STAGE 5: THE ENTHRONEMENT

The King then moved to his throne where, traditionally, a succession of royals and peers would have paid homage - but the Prince of Wales was the only person to do so this time. Instead, the archbishop invited people in the abbey, and those watching and listening at home, to pledge allegiance by saying the words: "I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God."

Crowning The Queen

After the homage, Queen Camilla was also crowned and enthronedalthough she did not have to take an oath.

He was crowned with Queen Mary's Crown - originally made for Queen Mary's coronation alongside George V - but it was modified to remove some of the arches and reset with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds.

Communion

In the final part of the service the King and Queen took Holy Communion - the principal act of worship of the Christian church.

The Departure

They then left their thrones and entered St Edward's Chapel behind the high altar - there Charles removed St Edward's Crown and put on the Imperial State Crown before joining the procession out of the abbey as the national anthem was played.

Coronation Procession To The Palace

The King and Queen returned to Buckingham Palace along the reverse of the route by which they came, this time travelling in the 260-year-old Gold State Coach that has been used in every coronation since William IV's.

The Princess Royal was among those riding behind the coach, while the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, were among the royals in the three carriages and first car following.

Nearly 4,000 members of the UK's armed forces took part in what the Ministry of Defence has called the largest military ceremonial operation of its kind for a generation.

They were joined by representatives from 39 Commonwealth countries and the British Overseas Territories. Most marched ahead of the King along the 1.42 miles (2.29km) route and, as the front of the procession reached the palace, the back was still at Downing Street.

The King and Queen arrived at the palace shortly after 13:30 and received a Royal Salute and three cheers from the military personnel who had been on parade.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE FLY-PAST

It has become customary since the coronation of Edward VII in 1902 for the new monarch to greet the crowds in The Mall from the Buckingham Palace balcony - King Charles and Queen Camilla continued the tradition and appeared shortly before 14:30 with the royals who had taken part in the procession.

The day ended with a fly-past, although unsuitable weather conditions meant it was be limited to helicopters and the Red Arrows display team.

I'd like to say a big thank you to Queen Barbara James for the opportunity to witness and cover this iconic event. Thank you too, Queen Barbara, for allowing me "news bomb" and "photo bomb" this opportunity for Hollywood Weekly. I know Mr. Prather Jackson would be laughing out loud now reading this. I am laughing myself.

Congratulations to King Charles III and as we, the British, would say, "Long live the King"!!!

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